Mirrors
by bellmaree
Summary: Moony sneaks out as well, and he's a prefect, too. Take a walk on the wild side, Lottie, live vicariously.' Marauder Era, SiriusOC. T for mild language, just to be safe.
1. Breakfast

Blank. No, that would be an understatement. _Glazed _would be a more appropraiate description of the look on Charlotte Blaire's face. It was a look similarly worn when listening to Professor Binns' monotonous lectures in her History of Magic class. And to Professor Slughorn's weak attempts at humor in Potions. Come to think of it, Charlotte's face seemed to be constantly shifting into a glassy stare in _most_ of her classes- except Transfiguration and Charms. But she was not in class, she was in the Gryffindor corridor, outside the Fat Lady's portrait. And she was fully moving, and she was entirely distracted by herself and a really gorgeous-

"I digress," a voice in the third-floor corridor outside said loudly. To Charlotte, this was signaling that she should leave, _now._ She tore her eyes away from the familiar boy in the glass, turned sharply so as not to be tempted to look back, and hurried out of the dimly lit room. Tossing on her 'borrowed' [i.e. without permission Invisibility Cloak, Charlotte closed the door as quietly as possible. She held her breath as she scurried past Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar as they floated along in their wispy grey way. When she got to the Gryffindor common room, she whisked off the slippery silver cloak and let out her breath. "Aha!"

Charlotte froze, her breath catching in her throat again. She slowly turned around, cloak in hand, arranging an I'm-way-innocent-I-don't-know-what-this-is-please-don't-kill-me-thank-you look on her round face. "Merlin, it's only you, Charlotte, I thought you were asleep!" Remus Lupin sighed, relieved. He grinned at her. "James was freaking out when he couldn't find it, he thought Severus Snape or someone else took it. Thank goodness it was only you."

"Ah, so you agreed to stay up and wait just in case it was your someone else, hm?" Charlotte teased, untying her hair and tossing him the cloak. "Well, no worries, it was only me. Not Severus Snape or Xeno Lovegood or anyone, pshaw. Like they would ever find it. Those two are much stupider than Peter or James, eh. And Peter and James are pretty stupid to start with," she said bluntly. She spread herself out on the red-and-gold-laden sofa in front of the fire and pulled out her wand. Charlotte pointed her wand towards a blanket. "_Accio blanket,_" she said, summoning it and wrapping herself in it.

"Is that a mahogany wand? How tall are you, about... Oh, that looks like a phoenix feather wandcore, and your wand must be eleven inches, right? From Ollivanders, obviously." Remus blurted, staring fixedly at her wand.

Charlotte nodded. "You could be a wandmaker if the Auror thing didn't work out. You were exactly right- mahogany and phoenix feather, eleven inches. Aah, good for Transfigur-aah-tion," she yawned, her eyes closing sleepily.

Remus smiled, placing his hand on her head. "Good night Charlotte, see you in class tomorrow, it's Transfiguration and Charms with James, Sirius, Lily, and me, then Defense Against the Dark Arts with me and James, and Potions with Sirius." He was at the foot of the stairs clutching the Invisibility Cloak when he tossed out casually, "Oh, Sirius wanted to... erm... _talk_ to you. Just, uh, sit by us at breakfast, okay? He's kind of... um... oh well, you'll see Sirius in the morning. G'night."

_Sirius? Sirius Black? Okay..._ Charlotte slept restlessly, dreaming of words remembered. _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._ Dreaming of stars and constellations. _Orion, Pegasus, Alpha Centauri, the dog star_. And dreaming of endless mirrors and all of her friends... _Lily, Remus, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius..._

"Come on, Charlotte, let's go, get up, there's a love, good girl, wake up," two voices urged- a girl's and a boy's. "Remus, get her up!" the girl's voice whispered.

"I'm alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic," Charlotte mumbled groggily. Someone tugged on her curly hair, and she sat up slowly. "Whaaat?" she hissed unpleasantly, cracking open her eyes. Remus and Lily looked at her expectantly. _"What?" _Charlotte asked again. Remus ran off as soon as he made sure she was awake, but Lily waited for her to finish getting ready before the two girls dashed out to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Charlotte jumped over the smooth wooden bench between Lily and Remus, landing with a small _tmp. _She began piling toast and pancakes onto her plate, while Lily preferred eggs on toast. Remus and Sirius liked meats like sausages, bacon, and ham. James would and did eat everything, but Peter had some sort of hippie diet where he would only eat celery staicks and peanut butter. Lily was every parent's dream- smart and beautiful at the same time. Remus had some... problems that usually ensued because of the whole "werewolf" thing, but was still gentlemanly and polite. Peter was the sidekick [and was treated like one sometimes, too but he didn't really mind as long as he was included. James and Sirius were best friends, had side-by-side female entourages, and were the overall Dream Team of the school. Charlotte was rather preoccupied with her breakfast to notice anything, really.

This is why she found herself stuck to the bench at the end of the meal. Alas, she was not alone! Several other people scattered across the room were stuck too- Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black at the Slytherin table and a few unnamed Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs at their respective tables. At the Gryffindor table, though, Charlotte was stuck with Arthur Weasley, Molly Prewett, and Sirius. Something clicked in her brain almost immediately.

"Oh my God," Charlotte hissed to Sirius, who was sitting across from her. "They're trying to set us up! It's not going to work. They are all stupid great prats if they think this is actually going to wo-" Her point fell dead as Arthur and Molly began snogging fiercely several places away.

Sirius smirked. "Still think it's not going to work, Lottie?" he asked, using a nickname for her he just made up.

"Shut up, Padfoot," she snapped. She had license to use that name for him because she was a Marauder [the only female Marauder at that, as well as James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus. Outside, she was crimson. Inside, she was utterly perplexed. Why did they pair her with _Sirius, _of all people? Exams were coming up, Black and Blaire would be together, right? And what about all of his doting fans?

Most of all, she wondered: why was Sirius in her reflection in the room by the third-floor corridor?


	2. Transfiguration

Sirius was sitting in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, passing notes to James.

**Psst, Prongs. Did you do that this morning? Sirius**

**Yeah, BUT... It wasn't my idea, Padfoot. Honestly. James**

**Why _Lottie?_ Sirius **

**Aww, you've got a disgustingly cute pet name for her already? James**

**Ha ha, but seriously, _Charlotte?_ Why our Charlotte Blaire, our _only _girl Marauder, our little Fluffball? Sirius**

Before James could respond, however, Sirius was called upon by Professor McGonagall to demonstrate a Switching Spell. He did so, although he did seem a little bit distracted. Several girls watched him, eyeing him hopefully. They squealed when he stretched and ran his hands through his mess of dark hair.

"Jameson, Bartlett, Sanders, Flemington, I know you girls aren't paying attention to your assignment because you giggle and toss your hair every time James Potter or Sirius Black does so much as look your way. Pay attention, ladies, I certainly don't care how good-looking these boys are, you shouldn't either, at least right now during class," Professor McGonagall snapped. She never tolerated any funny business in her classes.

Charlotte was rolling her eyes and sliding a note to Lily in the double seat in front of the other Marauders. Sirius peered between the girls to read what they had written when Professor McGonagall wasn't looking.

**Did you do that? Charlotte**

**Do what, the Sticking Charm this morning? Lily**

**Yes, that. What did you think I meant, think up the International Statute of Secrecy? Charlotte**

**I didn't think of either, but I was in on the Sticking Charm plan. Lily**

**Okay, but... Why Sirius? I mean, he's okay in the way of looks, and he is rather hilarious, but still. We've been best friends- that's why we're on nickname terms! While we were STUCK [i.e. thanks. Sirius said he wanted to 'evaluate my worthiness of Marauder membership.' What's with that? Charlotte**

**I think that's not all he wants to _evaluate. _Lily**

Sirius pulled back immediately after reading it. Charlotte gasped and smacked Lily in the arm. Sirius swallowed and masked his incredulous feeling with a joke shared with the other Marauders. Try as he might, he could not hide his confusion about the Sticking Charm Incident...

That night, Sirius requested the help of James' Invisibility Cloak.

"Why do you need it, Padfoot? Having a secret midnight rendezvous with your little Lottiekins?" James chortled.

Sirius hit him in the back of his head. "Shut up, Prongs, you still haven't answered my question from earlier- why did you stick me with Fluffball, Charlotte the teenage sheep? Why did she pick a sheep for her Animagus animal, anyway, a rat and a dog are much easier to believe they're really real, right? But a sheep? And not just a sheep, a teenage sheep with long legs and a fluffy body! She's been acting really weird lately, so I told her I needed to evaluate her worthiness of Marauder membership. Your 'one true love' Lily and Miss Charlotte Blaire were passing notes in Transfiguration about the Sticking Charm thing, and Charlotte said I was okay-looking and rather hilarious, and Lily said that Charlotte's worthiness wasn't all I want to 'evaluate.' AND-"

James interrupted, "Padfoot, shut up! You're rambling again... can I say something and have you promise you won't get mad at me or crack any jokes?"

Sirius nodded slowly.

"Well... you're in love with her."


	3. Change

It was freezing. Charlotte shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her as she waited for Sirius to show up. She hopped from one foot to the other, trying to stay warm. Her shoes against polished floor made a rhythmic tapping sound. It was a simple beat, but inspired her voice.

"_Where do I go from here, there's nothing left for me to do_

_I'm waiting for the ends of time so I can run right back to you_

_Where do I go, where do I run, where do I hide_

_'Cos everywhere I turn I can see your smile_

_Every time you laugh my heart runs a mile_

_Anywhere I go I know you'll be there_

_But you'll never know- how much I care..._

_How much I care... about you..."_

"Wow, Charlotte, you're more far gone than I thought," Lily's voice remarked out of nowhere. "Pull out your mirror from your pocket when I'm speaking to you."

Charlotte did so. Lily's face had appeared in her mirror. "What do you mean, more far gone than you thought?" she asked warily, wondering where this was going.

Lily shrugged. "Sirius," she said simply. "You fancy him." Upon seeing Charlotte's stricken face, she backtracked. "Okay, okay, I won't make you say you like him, but at least tell me what you like _about _him."

Sighing, Charlotte said, "All right, um, Sirius. Well... he's really funny, and he's sweet when you _really _know him. And he's got that effortlessly good hair, and his blue eyes are kind of intense. He has that sort of slow smile and lazy walk, and his grades are above average, if only by a little bit. I guess he's _okay._"

Lily looked skeptical at that last statement, but only said, "Okay. Well, what _don't_ you like about Sirius?"

"Sometimes he's arrogant, vain, conceited, and show-offy," Charlotte rattled in immediately, as if trying to prove her dislike for him. Lily, of course, didn't buy it.

"The 'like' list is longer than the 'dislike' list by three," Lily stated matter-of-factly, causing Charlotte to blush. "And then it's still only sometimes, you said."

Before Charlotte could say anything else, a cough emanated from around a corner. "Bye," Lily blurted, then disappeared. Charlotte his the mirror hastily as Sirius rounded the corner.

"Um, your hair... it's red. Like, red-red, not hair red but tomato red. Did you do that on purpose, or what," Sirius pointed out.

"No, it's not. My hair is dark brown, not 'red-red.' You need to get your eyes checked. Oh, wait, I forgot that dogs are colorblind!" Charlotte said nastily, pursing her lips and closing her eyes.

Sirius' eyes widened. "You're a... you're a Metamorphmagus!"

"I- No, I'm not."

"You_ are,_ I saw your hair change colors! My cousin is a Metamorphmagus, she thinks it's the greatest thing in the world. She changed her nose around, it's such a laugh."

"No, it's not. I don't like it, okay?" Charlotte turned away, mumbling. "I like things that stay the same, things that don't come and go at a whim, like lives and..." Her voice broke, and she promptly turned into a sheep. She took off at a canter.

Sirius swore loudly, switched into a dog, and loped off in the same direction that Charlotte had. As soon as he passed her, he turned around and herded her to the nearest bench. She became a human again and sat on the bench. "Who...?" Sirius asked quietly, sitting down beside her in his human form.

"My dad. He was the magic one, so when he died, my mum... she didn't know what to do with me. So she dumped me at King's Cross the following term and took off without so much as a goodbye. At the end of the year I realized she wouldn't be there waiting for me. Remus was so kind to have taken me in for the next three summers after that. Lily offered, but I knew her sister was a magic-hater and wouldn't tolerate another witch in the house, much less a Metamorphmagus. I began trying to hide my Metamorphmagus-ness, but when I feel... extreme emotion... things happen. Mostly it's my hair changing colors to reflect my emotions if I'm feeling something strong. I know I'm supposed to control it, but I..." Charlotte shivered.

Sirius was absently running his fingers along Charlotte's palm and up to her wrist. She shivered again. "Sirius... Sirius!" Charlotte whisper-yelled. He pulled his hand away quickly.

"Sorry, I... I didn't know I was doing it. I... sorry."

"No, it's not that, that was... We should be getting back. The Fat Lady could be asleep by now, and then we'll be stuck. And I'm a prefect, I can't be caught," Charlotte worried. "Really, I shouldn't even be here."

"Moony sneaks out as well, and he's a prefect too. Take a walk on the wild side, Lottie, live vicariously. I know it's in you," Sirius said, standing up.

"No it's not. It's not me, it's not in me, I have to walk on the safe side. So I don't get hurt." Charlotte stood up too and began to walk down the corridor.

Sirius didn't try to follow.


	4. Apples

When Sirius finally returned to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Remus and James were waiting for him. "So, Padfoot, did little miss Lottie finally declare her love for you?" James asked, half-jokingly.

Sirius rubbed his jaw in a frustrated way. "I don't know, mate, do merpeople fly?"

"I'd take that as a 'no way on God's green earth,' Prongs," Remus explained.

"I _know _what he means, Moony. But Pads, whyever not? I took that most people thought we were madly attractive. Why wouldn't she fall in love with you?" James asked sincerely.

Remus took a guess. "Maybe she only thinks of him as a mate, she does hang around us an awful lot."

"She's a Marauder, why wouldn't she hang out with us? But it's not that, it's just- she's a fruuping Metamorphmagus! Her mum dumped her when her dad died and Moony here has been housing her ever since during the summers. And she hates change, which is why she hides the fact that she _is _a Metamorphmagus, and-" Sirius babbled.

"Whoa, mate, slow down. What _are _you talking about?" James asked, concerned.

"PREFECTS!" Sirius shouted. He fainted, falling into bed ungracefully.

James turned to Remus. "Care to explain any of this to me, Moony?"

"Lily should come help us, mate."

Ten minutes later, three conspiring Gryffindors sat in the common room, all there for a common purpose- to discuss the love lives of their best friends.

"So Prongs, do you get it now?" Remus asked James. He had just finished telling the whole story with occasional helpful input from Lily.

"Not really, but okay. So basically... Charlotte is a prefect, a Metamorphmagus, an Animagus, and Padfoot's soul mate. Have I got at least that much right?"

Lily and Remus nodded. "Her main fault is that she's afraid of change. I think that maybe it's more than that, that maybe she's afraid of time. Or even worse- she's afraid of herself, of her own feelings. That's probably why it's hard for her to come to terms with the death of her father, the leaving of her mother... and her love for Sirius," Lily said slowly.

"Which is why we're officially stepping in. I gave the idea for the Sticking Charm Incident, but Sirius took matters into his own hands by sort of asking her out tonight," Remus said.

Lily added, "She proved that she at least likes him by showing up, telling me all those things she loves about him, and telling him about her past. Now we know she loves him, but she would never admit it."

James agreed, "You'll- we'll- see them tomorrow in class, so we'll see how far along they are on the path to happiness They'll thank us for this someday, I know it."

"It may be one of the few things you _do_ know," Lily commented.

* * *

Professor Flitwick was showing the Charms class how to make various fruits dance. Usually Charlotte was wide-awake and paying rapt attention to wand movement and pronunciation, but today... not so much. She blamed Sirius, of course, for keeping her up so late, but also for _distracting _her so. Every time she even turned in his direction, he was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Whenever he caught her looking back at him, he smiled slightly, that sweet slow smile of his, and she immediately turned pink and looked away. Damn that grin, those eyes.

Lily was sliding her a note, conveniently hidden behind her dancing kumquat. But Charlotte noticed that it wasn't really even a note, more like the beginnings of a chart:

**What You Know About Sirius vs. What You've Heard About Sirius**

Obviously Lily intended for her to fill it out. Charlotte grudgingly did so.

**What You Know About Sirius **

**-can be an annoying git**

**-smells like apples**

**-has a nice smile**

**-has sapphire blue eyes**

**-hilarious**

**-sweet**

**-has slightly above-average grades**

**VS.**

**What You've Heard About Sirius**

**-a ridiculously good kisser**

**-a humongous flirt**

**-has cheesy pickup lines that always work**

**-doesn't use hair gel**

**-has soft hair**

Charlotte slid it back to Lily, who read it and raised her eyebrows. "Smells like apples? Doesn't use hair gel? How do you find out this stuff?"

"I don't know for sure about the hair gel thing, cos I haven't felt his hair- when would I have time to do that, anyway? And I know he always, always smells like red apples. I know they're red apples because the red ones smell differently from green and golden apples," Charlotte explained.

Lily poked her in the shoulder. "What, you go around smelling boys? Is it a personal hobby of yours?"

"Like you haven't figured out that James smells like strawberries and mint. You hang out enough, so... oh wait a minute, I forgot, he's a nobody to you. A stalker of sorts."

"Why would I know what he smells like? Why would I _want _to know? So do you just smell your buddies, or what?"

"Well, Remus smells like cinnamon and vanilla, and... that's it. I'm around them a lot, so I guess I just know things about them, that's all."

"Like how James is an arrogant toerag, Remus is the best of the bunch, Peter's a freaky little mouse-boy, and Sirius _smells like apples. _All this from a person whose favorite food group is Chocolate Frogs? Maybe."

"Three of those were your own opinion! And Sirius really does smell like apples, it's a fact," Charlotte insisted. The pair began packing their bags and making their way towards Professor Slughorn's Potions class. When they arrived, they sat at the front of the class.

In front of Professor Slughorn's desk stood three cauldrons full of potions. When all the students finished filing in, Professor Slughorn stood up and clapped his hands. "All right. Can anyone name these three potions for me?"

Lily's hand matched Charlotte's in the race to be called on. "Lily," Professor Slughorn said, to which Lily answered promptly, "Draught of Living Death, Befuddlement Draught, and Amortentia. Draught of Living Death is an extremely powerful sleeping potion, so powerful it earned the name Draught of Living Death. The Befuddlement Draught is a potion that confuses the drinker. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world, its odor differs to each person depending on what attracts them."

"Exactly right, ten points to Gryffindor. Today we focus on the Amortentia. Each person should smell multiple things that appeal to them. I am going to go around to each person and you will tell me everything you smell. All right, let's see..."

The smells varied from oranges to elastic bands to new parchment. There was jasmine and chocolate and blueberries, roses and fresh grass and coffee. When Professor Slughorn reached Lily, she stole a peek at Charlotte before saying, "Newsprint... and strawberries and mint."

Charlotte half-smiled and took a deep whiff of the Amortentia. Her smile disappeared. Professor Slughorn asked her what odors she detected, and she replied slowly, "Raindrops and sheep's wool... and dog fur and red apples."

* * *

**Hi everybody! **Thanks to all of you who favorited me or put this story on your alert list or even did something so simple as review. So... yeah. Gracias/ THANKS. 

-Loves, Raleigh Lendon


	5. Hogsmeade

A Muggle song someone had told Sirius about played in his mind.

_I always feel like somebody's watching me_

_And I have no privacy_

_Whoa-oa-oa_

_I always feel like somebody's watching me_

_Tell me, is it just a dream_

_Whoa-oa-oa_

His stalkerish mannerisms surprised even himself, he'd never gotten this stuck on a girl before. And if he had, that girl wouldn't probably be ignoring him like Charlotte was. Maybe it was because she wasn't a member of his fan club. _Maybe _it was because she didn't worship him and adore him like all the other girls. Maybe it was because she was a Marauder, maybe his friends had told her things- _no. _Sirius was obsessed. He needed to get a life.

_But he had one. _A Charlotte-dominated, bad-case-of-hopeful-thinking one, but still a life. Sirius thought he would grow up alone with a pet flobberworm or something, and die an early death of some lunatic's ravings. Oh no- the Divination teacher's stupid omens were getting to him, he needed to see Madam Pomfrey.

"Paul Carvel said passion is a positive kind of obsession. Obsession is a negative kind of passion," a voice behind him said. Great, now he was hearing things.

"Pads, you're not hearing things, you're fine. You're just a little- well, a lot- lovesick. And yes, you are obsessed. Sirius, mate, you need to get your mind off Charlotte," Remus said.

Sirius nodded. "I know, Moony. But what am I supposed to do, go out with another girl?"

"Well... yeah. Teach your heart not to care too much anymore."

"I can't do-"

"You _can, _there are loads of girls who'd spend time with you. I know for a fact that most of them would do it in the blink of an eye, Padfoot."

"All right, fine."

"Great, next Hogsmeade weekend you're taking Jessie Bartlett to Madame Puddifoot's."

"That's tomorrow, you insane, moronic, aaaah... Hi Charlotte."

She smiled sadly. "Hi Sirius," she said quietly. "Remus," she said louder, smiling broader. Charlotte nodded to both and joined Lily across the corridor.

Remus looked at Sirius, who sighed and looked wistfully at where Charlotte had stood. He opened his mouth to say something, but Remus put his hand up and said two words that struck Sirius in the gut.

"Jessie Bartlett."

Sirius was left standing all alone in the corridor. He kicked the wall and growled at a couple of onlooking first years, who squealed and scarpered away. Then he growled at himself for being so... distracted.

* * *

"Get _away _from him."

"Bite me."

"I _said, _leave him alone!"

"Make me! Just because you two are dating doesn't mean I'm not allowed to talk to my best friend, Bartlett," Charlotte snarled, glaring at Jessie.

"Look, _Blaire, _you're just jealous. Potter is his best friend, not you, and I think it's pretty obvious by who he's with right now who he likes more. He doesn't love you, okay? So step off," Jessie sniffed cruelly, to which Charlotte drew her wand. Jessie laughed annoyingly, "Ooh, the little girl's got a dangerous toy. She should put it away and let the big kids play by themselves."

"That is so immature. I should've known you were too weak to fight me properly. I can't believe I thought, even if it was just for a second, that you wouldn't get to juvenility. Apparently nothing's too low for you. I'm not going to stoop to your level, so I bid you good day." Charlotte curtsied and left Hogsmeade in a dignified manner.

Not to say that Jessie was so regal; she began shrieking her head off at Sirius as soon as Charlotte left. She actually sounded rather like a small banshee, screaming, "If you go to her, I swear I will- hey! Where are you g- Sirius! _Sirius!"_

Sirius was running after Charlotte. Again. He seemed to have a habit of doing that. A... running-after-Charlotte thing. He caught her arm and turned her around. "Hey," he said.

"What do you want?"

"Don't listen to her, Lottie."

"Why not? I respect your judgement, so I listened to her... thinking she was just another mindless member of the bimbo brigade. Obviously I was wrong. About her and about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Sirius, she insulted me to the highest degree. She said I wasn't your friend, that I was jealous of her, and that I'm in love with you."

"What, she was completely off on everything and I axed her, okay? End of story."

"No, not end of story! You've been ignoring me, so I assumed you didn't want to be friends anymore. And... yes, I used to be so, so jealous of Bartlett. She's popular, she's smart, she's a pureblood, she's got everything I don't have."

"What does blood status matter? I'd actually rather not be a pureblood, it means I'm practically related to every other pureblood- the Malfoys, the Weasleys... Merlin, Lottie, I don't care."

"It does matter though, don't deny it. That's not the point, Sirius. You spent more time with her today than with me. You promised to go to the Three Broomsticks with me today. Apparently you forgot. I'm not surprised, you've been ignoring me. Remember?"

"Lottie, you've been ignoring _me! _Whenever you do take the time out of your busy schedule to say two words to me, it's like you're forcing yourself to speak, all quiet and no smiles. Bloody hell, Lottie, what do you want from me?" Sirius was yelling now.

"I want you to _notice _me, Sirius! Because- because you never do!" Charlotte bellowed, a tear running down her cheek.


	6. Tea

Bloody hell. Bloody, bloody, bloody hell. "So tell me what he said?"

"He said I'd been ignoring him and then he started yelling, asking me what I wanted from him," Charlotte sighed.

"And you said something stupid like 'I want you?' Is that why you're freaking out?"

Charlotte glared at her. "No, I yelled at him, '_I want you to notice me, because you never do!' _Who says stuff like that? And to put the icing on the cake, I started bawling my eyes out after that!"

Thinking hard, Lily said, "So you think he thinks you love him. Am I correct?" Charlotte nodded solemnly, which Lily answered by taking a deep breath. "And… do you love him?"

She didn't move or say anything, just waited for Charlotte to answer. Charlotte got up from her eat on the Gryffindor sofa and went over to the foot of the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories. "Oy! Moony!" she shouted.

"Whaat?" Remus shouted back.

"Where's Padfoot?"

"Gone somewhere, why?"

"Don't ask, just move your lazy arse down here, Lily and I need to talk to you! We have tea!"

"And what makes you think you'll convince me to go down there?"

"Trust me, I have some definite reasons why, Moons," Charlotte grinned diabolically.

Half a minute later, Remus appeared, out of breath and looking very hassled. "I brought biscuits," he said through his teeth. Lily looked like a fish as she gaped at him shamelessly.

"Remus? Your shirt..." Charlotte bit her lip and took the biscuits.

Remus looked down at his chest and swore colorfully before bounding upstairs.

"Is nonexistent," Lily giggled. Her small, dainty twitter evolved into peals of borderline hysterical laughter. "You're going to have to tell him I didn't do anything," she got out between laughs. Luckily the girls composed themselves before Remus got back.

"Now that's over, we can focus on whatever it was you wanted to talk to me about," Remus said, reemerging from the dormitories fully clothed. "I take this is about our good friend Sirius and a certain Hogsmeade visit, I suppose?"

The girls nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. He did so. Charlotte handed him a teacup and he took a sip before obliging in a short question-and-answer session.

"Charlotte thinks Sirius thinks she's in love with him," Lily said flatly.

"And is she?" Remus asked as if she were not there.

"She won't say. Well... I think she wants to know whether he loves her. It seems as if-"

"He does," said Remus bluntly.

"He does," Charlotte repeated, as if asking if that was indeed what he said.

"He does," Lily said cheerfully. "So that's that! Now we need to know... So, Charlotte?"

"He loves... me? Are you sure? Ugh, of course you're sure; I put Veritaserum in your tea, Moons. Sorry, mate, I had to. So- you're positive?"

Remus was staring at Charlotte incredulously. "_Veritaserum? _Then obviously I am positive!"

Lily looked about as happy as a clam so she said absolutely nothing at all. She simply got up and left as Charlotte continued talking to Remus about the necessity of using Veritaserum. Soon afterwards, Remus left to patrol the hall, another job of the prefects. Charlotte stood up and climbed out of the Fat Lady's portrait hole with half an hour until lights-out and no idea whatsoever of where she was going.

After wandering aimlessly around the corridors for several minutes she sat down on the nearest bench and pulled a quill and parchment out of her bag. Words flowed from her hand as a poem formed before her very eyes:

**_So What is Love_**

_So what is love_

_It's when you'd die for him and he'd die for you_

_So what is love_

_It's when your heart fills with joy when he's in the next room_

_This is love_

_This is love_

_So what is love_

_It's when you can cry and feel his pain_

_So what is love_

_It's when you'd give him the sun, the moon, and the rain_

_This is love_

_This is love_

_So what is love_

_It's when he's around he's the only one you see_

_So what is love_

_It's when he smiles or he laughs and your heart stops beating_

_This is love_

_So this is love_

Charlotte packed everything back up in her bag and walked back to the common room, suddenly very tired.


	7. Poems

"CharlotteCharlotteCharlotteCharlotteCharlotte guess what?" Lily bounced up and down, obviously ecstatic about one thing or another. Like she usually was.

"LilyLilyLilyLilyLily what?" Charlotte sat up straight.

Lily grinned and shoved a roll of parchment in Charlotte's face. "Look what I found in the common room!"

It was... parchment. With words on it. Wow. Charlotte pointed this out to Lily, who said, "But not just any words, read it!"

**_Girl_**

_She's my fallen angel_

_Got a slightly fractured wing_

_She's my thoughtful genius_

_Doesn't know quite everything_

_She's my little princess_

_Thinks she's already queen_

_She is_

_She's my girl_

_She's my dancing gypsy_

_Doesn't have a flying rug_

_She's my lucky trinket_

_Maybe needs a longer hug_

_She's my guest of honor_

_No one set her out a mug_

_She is_

_She's my girl_

_My supersonic speed machine_

_My special-weapon guillotine_

_She's happiness guaranteed_

_Cos she is_

_She's my girl_

_She's mine_

_She's my girl_

"Who wrote this?" Charlotte hissed at Lily through clenched teeth.

Lily grinned again. "Who do you think wrote it?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Sirius?" sighed Charlotte.

"Of course it was him! Charlotte, here's a boy so in love with you he wrote a poem about you that took up a whole roll of parchment. I think you need to give love a chance," Lily implored.

"You're telling _me _to give love a chance? I loved my father, he died. I loved my mother, she left. Needing to- _wanting _to be strong for them- that's love. If you don't know what love is, read this," Charlotte snapped, throwing the poem she wrote at Lily as she stomped down the stairs.

Lily sat on her bed as she read the poem. Her eyes grew wider and wider as she read. "She _is _in love with him. Shadow, take this to Sirius," she told her cat, who often acted as an owl when Lily's owl Jodhpur wasn't available.

Shadow took the poem from Lily in his mouth and trotted off to find Sirius.

"It's Sunday," Lily noted randomly. "It's also ten-thirty. I've missed breakfast."

* * *

"Hey Moony, what's up with this?" Sirius asked Remus. "This cat has been following me all morning. I'm starting to feel weird."

Remus looked over. "That's Lily's cat Shadow. It looks like he's got a roll of parchment for you," he said, turning back to what he was doing.

Sirius took the parchment from Shadow and scratched him behind the ears. The cat purred and went back to Lily in the dormitory. Sirius flattened the parchment on his knee and scanned it quickly. "It's a poem about what love is."

"Lily sent you a love poem?" Remus asked curiously.

"It's not in her hand, look, the l's aren't all curly like Lily does. The letters are smaller here, like-"

"Charlotte's."

"Ugh, I don't know what is up with her, she's been acting really odd lately. Ever since the whole Jessie thing she's been avoiding me. Yeah, I know it was all my fault for going out with Jessie in the first place, but still."

"Pads! I meant Charlotte wrote this!"

"Oh. Well, who would she write this about, anyway?"

"Hey, mate, look at the s's on here, they're all funny... the tops look like hearts almost, don't they?" hinted Remus.

"What?" said Sirius, squinting.

Remus sighed, exasperated. "You, Pads, she's in love with _you."_

Sirius stared at him. "No, she's not. Trust me, she hates me after Jessie."

"But she is, she hates Jessie because Jessie told her you would never love her, she was jealous of you and Jessie, and you never talk to her much anymore. She loves you with her whole heart," Remus said solemnly. "Go do something about it."


	8. Exams

Doodle doodle doodle, oh look a line. More lines... lines lines lines, oh a circle. Scribble scribble scratch shaded. Crosshatch scribble fur... fluff... eyes. Swirl... a girl. The quill moved across the page, a picture forming. Exams started in an hour, why wasn't she worried?

Charlotte was far from worried, she was actually bored with waiting for everything. So bored, in fact, she was nearly finished with a nonsensical picture. A girl... or a flower? It looked like both- a girl crouched on the feathery ground, a fetus in a flower bud. The figure was surrounded by swirling shapes and patterns, flowers and leaves. A hodgepodge of art. Charlotte signed it with a flourish and tacked it to the notice board.

Time for exams. She was oddly confident although she hadn't studied much. She was even... giddy? Charlotte herself didn't even know what reasons she had for being happy. Maybe it was because Charms was first, who knew. Whatever the reason, she skipped to the Great Hall, quill and ink in hand.

She caught up with Lily, who slipped her arm through Charlotte's and skipped along to the seats assigned to them. As she had suspected, Charlotte was sitting behind Sirius. She eyed him skeptically as he gave James a thumbs-up. Remus sat two seats along from her, absorbed in his exams. He scratched his chin with the end of his quill, looking a bit pale and peaky.

She scratched a few words on a piece of scrap parchment: **What are they up to? **Charlotte folded it up very small and tossed it to Remus when Professor Flitwick wasn't looking. He jumped about a mile in the air, startled by the sudden interruption. He opened it, glanced at Charlotte, Sirius, and James and shrugged indifferently. _I don't know, _he mouthed.

"Quills down! Stay seated while I collect your papers! _Accio!" _said Flitwick. The force of the oncoming rolls of parchment nearly bowled him over; two students in the front helped put him back on balance. "Thank you... oh, you're all free to go!"

Chairs scraped along the floor as everyone departed the Great Hall. Charlotte shook her head in disdain as Sirius laughed and joked with his buddies. He very well might think immaturity and juvenility got the girl- well, not this girl.

* * *

That night Sirius decided he _had _to talk to Charlotte, whether she wanted to or not. He needed to sort this thing out once and for all. He wouldn't cry if she fell in love with him, either. "Hey," said Sirius, falling into step with Charlotte.

"Hey," she said quietly.

Lily smirked. "Wow, pretty extensive vocabulary you've got there. I can hardly keep up."

Charlotte glared at her. Lily gave Charlotte a look and walked away.

Sirius rocked back and forth on his feet. "I wanted to say I'm really sorry."

"For what." It wasn't a question so much as it was a frank statement.

"For the whatever it was I obviously did to bother you; the Jessie thing...? I don't know. I'm just... I'm sorry, okay?"

She bent over to rub a scuff on her shoe, a light strip of skin exposed between the edge of her blouse and the waistband of her skirt. "It takes a real man to apologize first. But no way on God's green earth was I going to apologize after you chose to become infected by that vile, revolting slut on your arm. She was a- ooh, she was horrible, Sirius! Why would you pick such an atrociously... I'm sorry, I'm just really... ugh." She stiffened at Sirius' touch, he had placed his arm around her shoulders. Charlotte bit her lip, visibly trying to decide whether she liked it or not.

Sirius supposed she did, because she relaxed her body and ran her tongue along her lip. He shuddered, Charlotte pulled away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Now it was his turn to walk away.

The odd thing was, Charlotte did go after him. "I get it, you don't want to be friends anymore. I understand."

"What?" blurted Sirius, eyes wide. Charlotte took a step closer to him. "Not friends, maybe. But only because I've wanted to be more than friends," he whispered, his face inches away from hers.

Charlotte's eyes became shadowed. "And you suddenly decide to tell me this right no- oh. OH. Sirius- why would you ever- why oh why... Why would you need to make me jealous? You already ha- never mind."

The amount of space between their faces decreased somewhat. Charlotte closed her eyes. "I already had...? What?" Sirius murmured, his lips millimeters from hers.

"You already had m-"

_"EEEEEEEEEEK!"_ A long, drawn-out howl and a bloodcurdling screech followed; Sirius and Charlotte sprang apart, looking startled. A click of realization struck their faces. "Moony."


	9. Finale

The pair raced toward the origin of the sound. "Did he transform...?" asked Sirius, breathless.

"No really! He's supposed to get to the Shrieking Shack every full moon. There's no way he forgot, it's his worst fear. He thinks about it every day. Hey, wait-" Charlotte stopped midstride. She cupped her hands around her mouth and howled as loud as she could. "Transform," she hissed. She howled again. "Transform and get out of here. I'll handle it!"

"No way! Your mind's going if you think I'm leaving you here," Sirius roared.

"Shut up, Sirius, don't talk crazy. For once in your fifteen-year-old life, do as I say! Don't object, trust me and my judgment! I know what I'm doing, I have a plan! Now _run!" _screamed Charlotte.

Sirius hesitated, then nodded determinedly. He transformed and began running... the wrong way. "Sirius!" screeched Charlotte. "Be careful," she whispered.

* * *

Playing the hero- that was what he was doing. He was getting closer to Remus now; he had no plan. _Ad lib it,_ he told himself. _And if saving your own arse isn't enough motivation, do it for Charlotte._

It all happened so fast after that, a tangle of snarls and teeth and paws and claws. Sirius ran right smack into Remus in a flurry of sweat, fear, and bite. One swipe from the transformed other smashed Sirius into the ground.

Impact- then darkness.

* * *

Hospital wings scared her. _"He's been here less time than she has, and she hasn't even a scratch. She's sat there by his side even before he got here. Now that's dedicated friendship."_

He stirred and his eyes fluttered open. There was a sharp intake of breath, a breathed name. "Sirius!" The hand held in both of hers pressed to her cheek. "Sirius, are you all right?"

"Charlotte? I'm fine," said Sirius, sitting up in the cot. Flowers, get-well cards, and candy decorated the table next to him.

She sighed in relief. Then her face hardened. "You- you- ugh, I told you not to go out there!" she whisper-yelled, so as not to get Madam Pomfrey angry. Her light-blond, almost-white hair turned copper. Charlotte snorted.

"Lottie, I nearly died, give a guy a break because of his pain and suffering-"

"_His _pain and suffering? What about mine, Sirius? As soon as you took off into the wild yonder I came here cos I knew you would end up getting hurt. Madam Pomfrey obviously now thinks I have Seer blood in me or something, cos and hour and a half later- lo and behold. You showed up, unconscious and scraped up like God-knows-what. I told you to let me handle it, Pads. Is it because I'm a girl? Cos even though I'm a girl-"

Sirius held up his hand, the one not clutched in both of Charlotte's. "I would've died anyway- if anything had happened to you, Lottie."

He eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around him. "Any special reason your hair is pink, Lottie?" Sirius murmured into her shoulder, his voice muffled by her rib-breaking hug.

"No," she spat, pulling back from their embrace. "No, I just- oh!" She threw her arms around him again, her chest shuddering with sobs. "Even though you're a vain, pompous, stupid, great prat and a bloody git, I'm just so glad you're okay. I would've done the same thing."

"Thanks...? And you know, Charlotte, I'm glad you're a girl," Sirius mentioned, a devious look crossing his face.

Charlotte scrunched up her face, crinkling her nose. "And may I ask you why you why you prefer my femininity?" 

He leaned over, whispering in her ear, "I prefer you a girl because if you were a boy, this would be inappropriate." Sirius turned his head sharply, his lips meeting hers.

They kissed, his arms around her waist protectively. Charlotte ran her hands through his hair to rest them around his neck again. Footsteps were heard behind them, adult footsteps, but they continued on after a brief pause. After a while the pair pulled apart, faces flushed and out of breath.

"How long have you been waiting for that?" Charlotte asked, sitting in front of Sirius on the cot.

"Longer than I thought. Blimey, girl, where'd you learn to do that? Cos it sure wasn't from McGonagall," Sirius said incredulously.

Charlotte winked. "I could say the same for you, mister. And for your information you were my first."

Shaking his head, Sirius laughed. "Little Miss Cocky. You don't kiss like that your first time, for _your _information."

She laid a quick kiss on his lips when his eyes were closed. "It's called slumber parties and all your friends' issues of Witch Weekly, got it?"

"I think I've got it now. Actually, you know I don't know. I'll just pretend like I do and wait and see just how far it gets me with you. All right?" said Sirius with a hopeful expression on his face.

Charlotte leaned forward... and gave him an Eskimo kiss.

"No fair," he whined.

"All's fair in love," she trilled.

"And war," Sirius added.

She nodded. "Yes but I thought you'd prefer this being love. But I guess not, eh? Otempora," she sighed dramatically.

"Indeed- oh, what an age we live in!" Sirius announced mockingly. "Where one prefers war over love." He laughed again.

Slyly glancing at him as he closed his eyes, Charlotte pinned him to the wall. "OI!" he whisper-shouted.

"We already had war. This is love..." she teased, kissing him again- this time like the first.

"Wow, an all-out snogfest. This is _so _much better than the stylings of Slughorn," a voice chuckled.

Sirius pried loose, his arm resting around Charlotte's waist. James, Lily, and Remus were standing nearby, Cheshire cat grins on their young faces. "I told you!" Lily chirped happily.

Charlotte giggled, winking at their three friends and snuggling closer to Sirius.

"Wow- mushy much," Remus teased.

"Leave the lovebirds," mocked James, much to Lily's amusement.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I hope you mean us, and not you and Evans, Prongs, mate. Or maybe-"

"Maybe you mean both," finished Charlotte.

Lily blushed. "Let's take that as a yes. How did it happen?"

"That's a story for another time, now, Pads," said James.

"Two Marauder romances? It's more than I can handle- I suppose I'm destined to be alone forever and always," Remus deplored.

"Right, and I'm a unicorn," Lily teased with a smile.

"Pretty as one," James announced gallantly.

Sirius shook his head. "Check the mirror, things aren't always as they seem."

_But sometimes they are. _


	10. Author's Note

w00t! All finished, after... how long? Two months, WOW! I love writing, and I have another chapter stroy in the works. I want to thank Unanimous for being there to read EVERY SINGLE ONE of my stories! Yes, you know you rock, it's okay to brag:) Thanks to EVERYBODY who read and reviewed this. I love you!

-Lily


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